Aurelion Sol
Wonder imprisoned
Five cloaked men
were traveling along one of the side slopes of Mount Targon. Their climb was
not difficult as that which awaits those who venture out in search of wonder,
on the cusp of the mountain. Not at all. The golden symbols on their crimson
hoods testified they belonged to the tribe of the Solari. They lived in the
majestic citadel on the eastern slopes of the sacred mountain, and knew the
less tortuous roads to move on.
That night, the
torches they carried emitted an absolutely redundant light. Never before the
stars were so bright and luminous. The huge clouds that were traveling in the
night sky had no hope of weakening the glare of the stars. The priests went on a wide, semi-circular
terrace of smooth stone, decorated with runes carved everywhere into the rock.
Two groups arranged themselves at the ends of the terrace; one man stood at the
center, a few centimeters away from a dark abyss, which end could not be seen.
Raised his arms
to heaven, the priest lifted his head upward. Under the large hood, hemmed with
golden filaments, only his lips were visible, from which came prayers of invocation.
«Oh, greatest
dragon! God of light and of all that it is lighted, come down on us with your
mercy!»
He pleaded for a
long time, more than he had done the night before, and all the previous ones.
The stars were still shining, but remained mute.
The man sighed,
disheartened. He had already given up hope when, suddenly, the veil of the
night was rent by a gargantuan claw. The sinuous forms of a celestial creature was
designed by continuously approaching constellations. When the divinity ended
his descent, with his enormous size he had occupied entirely the boundless
ravine of Mount Targon.
The four men at
the sides of the terrace rejoiced, proud and honored of their success: the
appearance of the god was the unexpected gift which everyone had hoped for.
The creature's
eyes, blue as the flaming heart of the first stars, rested, haughty, on his
worshipers. Around the body of the dragon, out of nowhere, three small stars
appeared. The force of gravity generated removed the hoods, which still covered
the faces of the humans, while the glowing light illuminated them.
The man at the
center, whose face was half disfigured by horrible burns, bowed, begging
forgiveness for their lack of respect. All the others did the same. Then the
gravitational force of newborn stars faded, and those began to orbit the
divinity.
The priest with
the burned face began to speak. He said how long he had waited for that moment
to arrive, in order to have the opportunity to pay homage to the god dragon
with a gift worthy of his magnificence.
«A gift?» were
the first words uttered by Aurelion Sol, «I already have everything I want. The
galaxies I visited will die before you can imagine that they've ever existed. I
have created what you venerate. You do not have any gift worthy of my
interest.»
When the creature
turned around, to go back in the infinite vastness of the cosmos, the priest
with the burned face created a fireball that hurled against the divinity. The
flames disappeared into the darkness of its serpentine body, not causing him
any harm.
Aurelion Sol spun
around, angrily. The orbit of the stars around him suddenly widened, and the
stars burned the four priests at the far ends of the terrace. The last man
alive knelt down again, bowing his head and turning his disfigured face to the
stone floor.
«Four sacrifices,
supreme God of all gods. Have mercy on me. Please, give us a little of your
infinite time, and honor us by accepting our gift.»
The heavenly
creature laughed inwardly. “The thing they do best, as always, is beg for mercy”
he thought.
He agreed to
follow the last priest left, who took him at the base of Mount Targon. The
clearing was kissed by the bright light of the stars, which lit a multitude of
altars, disposed irregularly. The man went up a circular staircase, to reach
the top of the central altar, while Aurelion Sol showed disappointment.
While the priest
with the burned face explained that those structures had been erected during
the First Rune War, a large number of Solari went, quietly, to occupy the tops
of other altars. When they were all in place, the first priest began to perform
an ancient and complex ritual. Hidden runes, scattered throughout the area,
were covered by a red pulsating light. Whoever had carved them, he had had such
a great power that it survived, despite the passing of eons.
A sphere of
arcane energy surrounded Aurelion Sol. Inside of it, enormous magical chains
forced him to the ground. Among his clawed fingers, stiffen with rage, the
dragon created two stars that hurled against the crimson prison, but could not
break free. As he got up, around him enchanted walls appeared, decorated with
runes older than time, which embraced him up, to sealing him completely.
«Free Me,
miserable inferior beings!» boomed the god, «What have you done? I am the
forger of the stars. I am life, fury and wonder! I am the one who talks as the
galaxies obey!»
«Lend us your power, oh great and
arrogant divinity» said the priest with the burned face.
Aurelion Sol pointed at him, his
eyes fiery, moving closer to the man as much as possible.
«My power is nothing, far from the
skies. Free me from these restrictions, and I will give you what you ask» he
hissed.
The priest sneered.
«If you went back to the stars, oh
divine, I do not think you'd be merciful as you say. No. The power you possess right
now will be more than enough»
«For what purpose?» asked the
dragon, forced to bow to that blackmail.
The sense of joy felt by the man, for
the victory he conquered, was equal to the frustration and the anger that
pervaded the heavenly creature. Both hid their emotions, appearing unperturbed.
«You will fight at the service of
the summoners of Mount Targon. You will devastate the League of Legends, with
your unstoppable rage. Thanks to you, the power of the Solari will be
consolidated once and for all. Nobody, in Runeterra, will oppose us.»
The god was impassive, after
witnessing the delirium of omnipotence of the priest. He reduced his glorious
voice to a whisper, so that only the man with the burned face could hear him.
«When this will be over, instead of
this ridiculous prison I will create a new sun, just like the one you worship.
The fire of the stars will consume you all.»
Aurelion Sol once graced the vast
emptiness of the cosmos with celestial wonders of his own devising. Now, he is
forced to wield his awesome power at the behest of an empire that tricked him
into servitude.
Desiring a return to his
star-forging ways, Aurelion Sol will drag the very stars from the sky, if he
must, in order to regain his freedom.
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